SA IMET

Internship – Australian Trained International Students

Bacground – December 2002

Australian Government announced that international medical students graduating from Australian medical schools would be permitted to stay on and work as interns in the public hospital systems 2003.

July 2003

In July 2003 the Minister for Health and Ageing agreed to extend those measures to 2004 and beyond and approved the following long-term arrangements for current and former Australian-trained international medical students wishing to continue to practise in Australia:

  1. Australian-trained international medical students are to continue to be permitted to remain in Australia to undertake vacant internships in public hospitals unable to be filled by suitably qualified Australian residents;
  2. those medical students completing internships in Australia can remain in Australia as temporary residents or apply for permanent residency;
  3. Australian-trained international medical practitioners applying for permanent residency are to be required to apply under the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) or the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS);
  4. Australian-trained international medical practitioners are to have the option of working in public hospitals or practising in districts of workforce shortage under the Medicare provider number restrictions contained in the Health Insurance Act 1973;
    5. and
  5. permanent residents Australian-trained international medical practitioners are to have the option of working in public hospitals, practising in areas of workforce shortage under the Medicare provider number restrictions, or undertaking specialist vocational training.

Under this arrangement, Australian-trained international medical students are sponsored by their prospective employer and permitted to occupy intern positions in pubic hospitals and regional health centres unable to be filled by suitably qualified Australian permanent residents. Australian-trained international medical students may apply for:

  1. intern positions (previously under the Medical Practitioner subclass 422 temporary visa or the Occupational Training visa - now the Business Long Stay Visa subclass 457 visa is recommended) provided they have a conditional registration with the Medical Registration Board in your jurisdiction;
  2. vocational training and permanent residency under the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) for regional medical positions (when full medical registration or limited registration and fellowship of the relevant specialist college is achieved);
    3. and
  3. vocational training and permanent residency under the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) for non-regional medical positions (when full medical registration is achieved).